These little pies are absolutely delicious! They are called ‘ Bocconotti’, a specialty of Puglia in the very south of Italy. They are melt in the mouth pies made with puff pastry and an almonds and Limoncello filling.

• butter 6, 10 cm wide little pie forms
• I cut strips of grease proof paper and make a cross over the pie form,to make it easy to release the pies
• 350 gr very good quality unsweetened puff pastry
• roll out the pastry and line the pie dishes with it
• sprinkle with a little caster sugar and set aside
• preheat the oven to 180˚

make the ‘pasta reale’:
• 250 gr ground almonds
• 200 gr raw caster sugar
• 3 organic eggs, separated
• juice and zest of 1 organic lemon
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Limoncello liqueur

• beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy
• gradually add all the other ingredients
• in a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff
• fold them into the almond mixture

• spoon the ‘pasta reale’ into the individual pie molds, that have been lined with the puff pastry

• bake the ‘Bocconotti’ in the preheated oven, for about 25 minutes or until they have puffed up and are golden in color

I like to serve them with a glass of Limoncello.
The liqueur can be either sipped while eating the ‘Bocconotti’ or poured over the pastry and then eaten. You choose!